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Iona (13-6, 6-2) at Siena (13-7, 7-2) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPNU)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to Albany for one of the more anticipated matchups in the Metro Atlantic between the Iona Gaels and the Siena Saints. Iona got off to a quick 4-0 start in conference play, but they have leveled off a bit with a 2-2 stretch that has seen a home win against Fairfield and a road win at Manhattan mixed in with a blowout loss at Quinnipiac and at home against Rider. Daniss Jenkins has averaged 16.3 points a game and 4.8 assists a game for Iona.
Siena has also hit a bit of a rough patch in conference play with losses in 2 of their last 3 games, but they are in first place by a half game over Iona going into tonight. Both losses were a bit surprising – the first one being a road loss at Canisius and the second one being a home loss against Fairfield sandwiched around a home win against Mount St. Mary’s. Javian McCollum averages 15.8 points a game and 3.8 assists a game.
-NEWS, NOTES, AND HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (From the Puppet):
-USC got a big (and much needed) 77-64 win over UCLA. The Trojans completely dominated the second half outscoring the Bruins by 25 and actually blew the game open in the final minutes after being down double digits for much of the first half.
-Michigan State held off Iowa 63-61 and is slowly making their resume look more and more impressive. Iowa’s overall record is just 12-8, and they do have one really bad loss to Eastern Illinois, but there is still enough good on their resume to where they should stay inside the bubble if they can just hold serve the rest of the way.
-One of the most exciting games of the night was one you probably slept through. UC Santa Barbara went out to Hawaii and scored in the final seconds to pick up a 65-64 road win at a place that is not easy to win at. The Gouchos are now 17-3 on the year, and yesterday was probably their most impressive win of the season. They probably still need to win the Big West Tournament to make the field, which won’t be easy, but they will potentially be a very dangerous team in the Round of 64.
-Kent State is back home tonight against Buffalo and if they want any shot at all at landing inside the bubble they need to win out. New Mexico is also at home against Air Force tonight.